A variety of disabling diseases affecting the central nervous system have proven responsive to treatment using electrical stimulation of specific anatomic targets within the human brain, neural tissue, cardiac tissue, spine, limbs, torso, peripheral nerves, cranial nerves and other regions and parts of the body. Examples of disabling diseases affecting the central nervous system are Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, pain, seizure disorders, psychiatric disorders such as depression, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and the like.
At the present time, devices designed to produce deep brain stimulation use a standard set of components including a pulse generator, an extension kit, and an electrode. The pulse generator is electrically connected to the electrode and the electrode is surgically implanted within a patient's body. Typically, the extension kit is an intermediate connector between the pulse generator and the electrode. The pulse generator can produce a modulatable electrical field/current. At the present time, the electrode has four electrode contacts arranged as narrowly spaced bands on the terminal end of a stimulating electrode. This may also be referred to as a lead with electrodes disposed thereon.
It has also been found that electrical stimulation can be used in a various locations in the human body. For example, pacemakers can provide electrical stimulation to a patient's heart.
Examples of situations affecting the heart and circulatory system that may potentially be treatable with electrical stimulation include: bradyarrhtymia; this condition may require electrical stimulation, also known as pacing; tachycardia, including ventricular flutter and ventricular fibrillation where the characteristic waveforms of the electrical activity of the patient's heart are irregular and potentially chaotic. In this situation, a defibrillator is used to depolarize the heart muscle and terminate the dysrhythmia and allow the patient's body to reestablish a normal sinus rhythm.
Similarly, providing an electrical current to reduce or eliminate pain by effectively modulating the activity of the body's pain receptors can mitigate pain. The pain receptors transmit pain messages from the pain receptors to the brain. In other words, if the pain receptors' pain messages are effectively interdicted or mitigated, then the brain is unaware of the pain and the patient does not feel the pain.
In each of these situations, energy is conveyed from an energy source, typically a battery, to an electrode. The electrical line, generally referred to as a lead, conveys the stored energy in the battery to electrodes proximate the portion of the body where electrical stimulation can be beneficial. In many situations, the battery, the lead and the electrodes are implanted. It has been found that the lead is vulnerable to damage during implant, use, and removal or revision.